Companies and marketers with a documented content marketing strategy are five times more likely to succeed. Why? Because when they are working more efficiently and effectively, in alignment with their marketing plan and defined goals the success rate of getting the firm across the finish line is much greater than those who don’t work with a plan. Working this way is no different to your teams working on projects. You have a defined schedule with targeted dates for the completion of each phase of the work.

Your marketing plan should include a master messaging roadmap that will be your strategic plan and tactical implementation plan for your firm. It should also include Business development and sales materials as they interlink.

“Your marketing whether on screen or off must deliver clear messaging, with offers content that provides value and connects to your audience by building trust.” – Peter Lucking

What is marketing? You may wonder why we ask that question? Many Professional firms confuse marketing with business development and sales!

Marketing is about identifying your key differentiators, developing your message, and establishing a positioning within your market(s). As an example, Marketing is advertising, event promotion, website content, and building thought leadership through public relations, white papers, PowerPoint presentations, webinars, etc. – these are all marketing strategies (or at least first cousins to marketing). Source: Marketing Materials Content Branding Solutions, Cheri and Peter Lucking

Let us begin by working smarter to reduce the time it takes and help you focus on results.

1. Set SMART Content Marketing Goals

Tips for achieving SMART Goals.

Specific

Get targeted, be specific. Answer the simple question of HOW or WHERE?

Measurable

We will measure the success of an article by the number of contacts that XXXX makes

Actionable

Tie every goal to action. Be accountable.

Just like an NFL team “two-minute drill,” Architects, Engineers, and Contractors content marketing needs to orchestrate an intricate strategy of actions to get results. As Content marketers we need to address the “How: (Action) behind the “What” (Goal).

For example:

Create one new lead-generating content asset, each month, that has correct SEO to attract new qualified clients and potentially grow your email list

Realistic

Be realistic, how many New Years Eve resolutions make it to March? It is important to dream and set goals that will push our abilities.

How do you know what is realistic? Gather the team. Look at last year’s numbers, and the overall direction your market area is headed.

For example, when the Design and Construction industry starts to take a downturn Cities often start to develop Performing Arts projects.

Timely

Set a deadline, a delivery date for your goals. You do this process for all your projects. Marketing for your firm should be no different.

Take the time to create goals that are specific, measurable, actionable, and realistic with a “Time” for delivery.

For Example:

Our Thought Leadership white paper will go out in the first week of each quarter.

Our Thought Leadership knowledge piece on Sustainable content will go out in the third week of each Quarter etc.

Your Website is an Inexpensive 24/7/365 Sales Prospecting Machine working for $0.55 Per Hour – $1.00 Per Hour(based on a $24K – $50K website with a lifecycle of 5 years)

Why Not Make It Pay for Its Self-100 Fold?

We are ready to start.

2. The Cascading Content Marketing Waterfall for Architects, Interior Designers, Consultants and Engineers in the Design and Construction Industry

An effortless fun way to develop your Marketing Plan: Use thedownloadable PDF outline (image below) as the agenda for your teams yearly Marketing Plan meeting. Project it on the monitor and follow the cascade.

Set up and utilize your teams preferred concept development tools from post-it notes, touch screens, simple whiteboards or super sticky easel pads with a lot of wall space.

A. Set your Marketing Goals

We start with Identifying your High-level business objectives. You may know your Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals but does your team? Now is the time of year to refresh your vision and align your teams’ goals.

Define your Market, what is your area of expertise? What does the Market need?

Define your ideal Targeted Customers. What are their major concerns and problems? What keeps them up at night?

How can your Brand Awareness solve their problems with content that answers their concerns and problems?

Where should your Brand Positioning be in the market?

Lead Generation. How do you presently generate leads?

What is your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)? Why should a client use you?

What is your Pricing and Positioning Strategy? How are you priced compared to your competitors? Why can you charge more? Define the reasons clearly and objectively.

Marketing is about building relationships, developing leads, and communicating benefits and value. How is your firm engaging and talking to your clients? Are you the Market Leaders the Knowledge Experts the go-to team? If not why not?

Identify your Superstars. These may be your area leaders, for example, Cultural experts or Restaurant thought leaders and designers. Put a face to your team, create and encourage your superstars. People by experts, people buy people. You should be marketing with and for these leaders.

Develop a simple Conversion Strategy that nurtures leads, creates and rewards sales and has the opportunity to upsell or cross-sell.

Customer Retention and Loyalty. When was the last time your superstars had time for a coffee with a client? Develop a client list with dates for your superstars to meet and chat with past and future clients. (Note: Complete Later).

Send out Invitations to tour completed projects together as a, one year, five-year, review

Show a client through an innovative project that may interest them

Play golf or have a pint. Just do something together.

Once you have reached consensus and set your Marketing Goals, it is time to take a break.

Need help Orchestrating Your Marketing Planning Meeting?Give us a call Now 303-362-0498

B. Develop Your Promotion Strategy

Make sure you have healthy snacks on the table as you quickly summarize the marketing goals as people gather. Now let’s create a promotion strategy to meet your goals.

Topics these are working titles for content assets from, presentations and marketing both on and off-line, to articles that solve your client’s problems. Simply, the ‘what’ topics. For Example:

How to Successfully Fast Track A Project

New Trends in Healthcare Design

Colorado Regional Escalation Report

Kitchens for Professionals on the Go

Modular Precast Bridge Design Saves Erecting Time and Money

Infrastructure Developments – Solving the Last Mile

Sustainable life-cycle costs for XXX buildings

You get the hang of this brainstorm, have fun, and create some hook lines and thought joggers.

Marketing – Advertising Promotions Channel Strategy. The when, where, and how. Before we start this, we need to develop an understanding of social media and its content lifespan.

Are You Ready for An Eye Opener?

Life Cycle of Social Media Content to ROI

Now before we jump into the process, get a good handle on all your marketing efforts and channels. Evaluate what you are presently doing.

The half-life of a tweet is around 18 minutes according to Moz. You tweet lost in the wind of the internet

Facebook’s Life Cycle 2 hours and 30 minutes for 75% of impressions and engagement

Instagram posts by top brands receive 50% of their comments within the first six hours and 75% within 48 hours. Are You a top Brand?

LinkedIn’s Life Cycle is 24 hours

Source: (Social Media Online Classes, 2018)

Evaluate your content assets, the life cycle costs, to determine your best long, and short-term marketing strategy and Return On Investment (ROI) for the time and cost of producing your content assets.

Imagine a Content Thought Leadership Article like the one you are presently reading costs $2,500 to produce including the integrated graphics and infographics. If you post it on Twitter or Facebook, you have a very expensive article that’s life cycle is minutes to a handful of hours! Not a very good return on investment, and not sustainable.

Are your clients hanging out waiting for your post on social media? Probably not! So, a longer Life Cycle is a benefit that will allow targeted clients to find your post, if it has proper SEO, for years to come.

For Architects, Interior designers, Engineers, Consultants and Firms in the Design and Construction Industry – Thought Leadership content posted in your blog gives you the best bang for your buck and biggest reach if it contains correct SEO and is linked back from LinkedIn and other short-lived social media channels.

To Maximize the Value of Your Blog Post:

Share it on multiple social media networks

Increase your posts life cycle time by updating your posts over time to make them evergreen, sustainable, and valuable

Use images in the posts to increase viewer retention and engagement

Use infographics, charts, and tables. Showing is better than explaining in many cases, the graph above is a great example

Utilize LinkedIn for your thought leadership posts

Consider Pinterest for onsite construction project images and updates

Consider a YouTube channel

Ok, now you have an idea of the life cycle of some media channels let’s get back to your Marketing — Advertising Promotions Channel Strategy.

Marketing – Advertising Promotions Chanel Strategy. We recommend you consider a mix of channel strategies working in unison to reinforce your experience and thought leadership skills. You want to be perceived as the Knowledge Experts and the go-to firm in the field.

Tips:

Try to set up a quarterly cycle, so asset content is always fresh and cycles through whitepapers to thought leadership articles to online presentations.

Look for places your targeted clients gather at like conferences, LinkedIn groups, and associations. Now put together an article of interest or presentation proposal that will get your firm to be speakers at that event.

Press Releases should be used to announce beneficial content, a new book, a special award, etc.

Content Conversion Strategy. Now that you have identified your qualified suspects it is time to attract them and convert them to Clients. Focus on delivering relevant value. Content conversion should be a natural component of the flow and not the prime motivator.

Is your website content custom? Is it targeted? Do you want to read it? If not, fix it.

Do your articles portray your thought leadership and expertise as the go-to experts in your field, are you sharing knowledge?

Use Google Analytics to find your top performing content and create relevant call-to-action (CTA) for each piece.

Make useful free downloads, free sign-ups, and content upgrades.

Do you have a call-to-action (CTA) on your site?

Your Content Asset Strategy will affect your Conversion rate

Source: (Correia, 2013)

Do not Be a Marketing Dinosaur: Put a Digital Content Marketing Plan in Place Give us a call Now 303-362-0498

Identify Joint Ventures and Partnerships. Potential partners surround you now in the Design and Construction industry.

Cross Marketing. For example, you are a specialist in XYZ… What do your clients always talk about? “Being on time and on budget.” Why not partner with a Cost Consultant or Quantity Surveyor to develop an article with infographics or a presentation together on how to stay on budget.

Joint Venture partnership on life-cycle Concrete or steal Frame?

Identify who you can Joint Ventures and Partnerships with and Set aside a date and a time for that call.

Referral Strategy. How many referrals have you missed because you do not pay a referral commission?

Put a referral strategy in place.

Ask clients for referrals

Ask associates and the consultant team for referrals

Take a ten-minute break

Marketing Content and Materials

From Marketing, Business Development to Sales nothing will happen if you do not schedule time.

Keynote Speaker Proposals identify when, where and who will attend and submit the proposals in time to be included.

Identify Keynote speaking opportunities, the proposal due dates and conference locations. Chose conferences where you are already in the market, then branch out

Research Guest Post Opportunities and make contact

Content Asset Creation. Someone must write the copy and content. Do you have the time or should you outsource it, should you use a ghostwriter or expert niche writerand editorial services? Decide on your Content Assets then develop a plan for delivery – In-house or outsourced:

Sales Materials Branding and Messaging. You should take a cursory look at your sales materials, from cut sheets to team organization charts to check that your messaging follows your marketing goals. Also, identify pieces that would help in the creation of your Content Assets.

Need help Orchestrating Your Marketing Planning Meeting? Give us a call Now 303-362-0498

As the Creative Director of Content Branding Solutions, I put your Brand Strategy and success first. Our team offers a wide selection attraction marketing services for the Design and Construction Industry.

Janszen, F. P. (2006, May 24). Innovation in the construction industry: the dominant role of the environment. Retrieved from Construction Management and Economics: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446199500000006?journalCode=rcme20

Social Media Online Classes. (2018, July 20). 21 Ways to Extend the Life of Your Content [INFOGRAPHIC]. Retrieved from Social Media Online Classes: https://socialmediaonlineclasses.com/21-ways-to-extend-the-life-of-your-content-infographic

Archives

Archives

Categories

Categories

Content Branding Solutions

Content Branding Solutions is a small business marketing agency that specializes in website design, graphics, social media, content marketing, SEO, Graphics and coaching for small businesses, professional practices, and independent Consultants in Denver, Colorado.